How AFOA & NIOP Took Check-In From Chaos to Effortless With Expo Pass

AFOA Annual Meeting 2024 (Source: LinkedIn)

We recently caught up with Jana Marie Dippold, an event coordinator who manages annual events for the American Fats and Oils Association (AFOA) and the National Institute of Oilseed Products (NIOP), two national trade associations connecting leaders across the global commodities supply chain.

Dippold discussed her experience switching to Expo Pass for on-site event badge printing to help her team deliver a polished, professional conference check-in experience.

The Challenge: When Your Event Triples in Size… But Your Team Doesn’t

Before switching to Expo Pass, Dippold’s team relied on pre-printed event badges shipped to the venue and sorted into bins. When these events were smaller, this process worked fine, but was still a hassle in terms of time and manpower. But then attendance numbers began to grow:

“I remember one of our meetings in Nashville, we had this huge hallway that we were in and the line to get your name tag was backed up to the elevator. It was chaos.”

With a small team manually sorting and handing out badges, Dippold quickly realized that something needed to change.

“We can’t do this anymore. We are just slammed.”

The Solution: On-site event badge printing
with Expo Pass

Switching to Expo Pass for on-demand, on-site badge printing changed everything. With iPad check-in kiosks and wireless badge printers, attendees can simply walk up, search their name, and print their badge in seconds.

“Dean [at Expo Pass] told us it would take 3 to 4 seconds for an attendee to walk up, print their badge, and walk away — and by golly, he was right.”

And Expo Pass’ plug-and-play on-site badge printing kits made setup effortless:

“I am not tech savvy, but it’s literally so easy. It’s like an Ikea box — you get it, open the box, and follow the instructions. And by the second day, I didn’t need the instructions.”

AFOA Annual Meeting 2024 (Source: LinkedIn)

The Results: Faster check-in. Happier attendees.

Moving to on-site event badge printing didn’t just solve a logistical headache, it transformed the entire check-in experience for attendees and Dippold’s team.

“We try to be known for being a company that puts on really great events and Expo Pass absolutely helps us do that.”

Time and Stress Saved

Cutting down on manual sorting and long check-in lines frees up valuable time and resources.

“It saves us so much time. It saves us so much manpower.”

Dippold expanded on that, explaining that at their check-in table they now have “one person as opposed to three or four… It frees us up to do more of what we need to be doing… to put out fires where fires need to be put out.”

Attendees Notice the Upgrade

The streamlined, modern check-in process even became a talking point among attendees:

“It makes things so efficient. It makes us look high tech… I would say one in every 15 to 20 people commented, ‘This is so nice. We love the iPads. We love how efficient this is.’”

Customer Support That Goes Above and Beyond

For Dippold, the experience isn’t just about the badges, it’s also about the people behind it:

“Customer service at Expo Pass is taken to a new level. I can email Allison at 9 PM on a Friday and she’s going to email me back immediately — and there’s always going to be a Smiley face at the end of it.”

Takeaway

Switching from pre-printed badges to on-site conference badge printing with Expo Pass was a game-changer. And backed by attentive customer support, they’re running smoother, more successful events year after year.

“I can’t imagine going back [to pre-printed badges]. It almost feels like we were back in the stone age.”